3D Modeling
Project 3: Transpecies Growth
The Proliferation of Identity and Human Connection
2018
My idea for this project is to grow filamentous fungi (as opposed to yeast-like fungi) in a transparent sphere full of hair. This is more experimental, as I have no control over how the fungi grow and how the fungi will react to the hair, if at all. Ideally, I would like the fungi to grow around the hair or even absorb the nutrients found in human hair. There are many different types of fungi and the variety of nutrients they are able to utilize is vast, thus the possibility of human hair (45 % carbon, 28 % oxygen, 15 % nitrogen, 7 % hydrogen and 5 % sulphur) as a source of nutrients is completely viable.
Many fungi thrive on dead and decaying organic matter (also known as a saprophyte), which plays to my interest in the communication between the dead, and the living. I find that the combination of these subjects in the form of dead hair and fungi speaks to the corporeality of our lives and our tendency to cling to the present. The coalescing of humans and nature also reflects the biophilic hypothesis and our innate desire to rediscover the connection that we once had with the Earth.
Currently, I've been struggling with what type of sphere to use. A sphere with a hole would be the cleanest choice; however, fitting the materials inside would prove to be quite the challenge. If I put two hemispheres together, there would be a ring around the middle, slightly compromising the sphere's perfection. I do, however, want to keep the structure suspended in the air so all sides can be easily accessed by the viewer. I would also like to document the growth of the fungi over time, but taking quality, consistent photos might be a challenge due to the environment in which fungi prefer to grow in (dark, dank).
Hair:
- Takes time to grow
- Many colors, dye allows any color
- Collection of dead hair
- Tangled
- Part of people's identities
- Fallen hair part of environment, no longer the person
- Relationship with everyone who's given hair
- Petri dish is recognizable
- Plastic = lab
- Nature manipulation
- Hair is a specimen
Thoughts:
- The amount of care that is put into maintaining hair is astounding. The global market for hair care products valued at about 85.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.
- This work is essentially a collection of portraits of the people around me. The notion of abstract portraits stems from Chu Yun's Who Has Stolen Our Bodies (2003) and a few of Felix Gonzalez-Torres' works.
For humans, hair (or the lack thereof) is a large part of one's identity. This veneration for hair only lasts as long as the hair is on one's head. Once it falls out, it is viewed as gross or nasty. However one may feel about strands of hair, one cannot deny the bond that the hair still has with its host.
Similarly, a fungus cannot live without its host. The fungus growing in each petri dish comes from a sample from each individual's environment and its growth is aided by the potato dextrose agar in each dish.
As this work is comprised of many individuals’ hair and the fungus that could grow from their environment, this work is essentially a collection of portraits of the people around me. Since these are portraits of people I know, this work as a whole would also be a portrait of my environment. These people are all somehow weaved into my life and are then physically tied together with a lock of my own hair.
When the hair that falls from an individual’s head, they become part of the environment they are in. With that occurrence alone, that person has unwillingly inserted themself into an environment. In time, as more hair falls into the environment, one’s connection with their environment grows. The work is not only a painting of individuals but also a reflection of myself and the human connection that occurs between us and nature in time.